Back to: Jss2 Basic Science (BST)

Introduction

Organisms can live and thrive in their natural environments because they have certain traits that help them do so. We call these things “adaptive traits.”

Most animals live in groups, so they can help each other find food, take care of their young ones, and fight off predators. Some animals, like the scorpion fish, leaf frog, and chameleon, can change their appearance to blend in with their surroundings. This helps these animals hide from their predators. Also, to avoid being eaten, an animal can change its appearance or behaviour to look like another dangerous animal. This is called mimicry.

Plants have changes that help them live in their environments, too. Cacti are a type of plant that grows a lot in the desert. It doesn’t have any leaves, just spines, and it stores water in its stem. These changes help the cactus survive in the desert, where water is hard to come by.

Plants in tropical rainforests can survive heavy rain because they have waxy surfaces that let the water runoff and shallow roots that help them get nutrients from the topsoil. In the tropical rainforest, there are a lot of epiphytes (plants that live on another plant). This is because they have grown aerial roots that attach to the host plant and allow them to get minerals and water from it.

Meaning Of Adaptation

Adaptation is the process by which organisms develop physical and behavioural traits that help them live in their natural environments.

Adaptation of plants to an Aquatic Habitat

Seaweed, spirogyra, water lettuce, water lilies, brown algae, etc., are all examples of aquatic plants. Hydrophytes are the name for these plants. 

They have the following characteristics:

1. They use chloroplasts to make food from light.
2. Some plants, like spirogyra, have mucilage that keeps them from drying out.
3. They have holdfasts for attachment.
4. They have holdfasts for attachment
5. Some plants, like water lettuce, have boat-shaped leaves that help them float on water.
6. Their bodies are made of hair, so they can float on the surface of the water.
7. Some plants’ roots go all the way down to the bottom of the water.

Adaptation of Animals to Aquatic Habitat

Aquatic animals have these adaptations that help them live in water:

1. They move through the water with fins.
2. They have a shape that helps them move through the water.
3. They breathe in water through their gills.
4. Some animals use lateral lines to detect vibration in the water.
5. Some animals have an exoskeleton to keep them from drying out.
6. Some animals hide in the mud to keep themselves from getting hurt. 
7. Some animals hide in the mud to keep themselves from getting hurt. 

Adaptation of Plants to Terrestrials Habitats

Plants In Forest Habitat

1. They have thin bark for transportation
2. They have big leaves or a lot of leaves to help them lose or move more water.
3. They use chloroplasts to make food from light.

Adaptation of Animals to a Terrestrial Habitat

Mammals adapt to living on land in the following ways:

1. Their hairy skin helps keep them warm.
2. They have sweat glands to keep their bodies cool.
3. They have lungs that help them breathe.
4. They use the pinnae on their ears to find the direction of sounds and get away from danger.